In a highly anticipated step for the healthcare system at-large, Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital will re-open next Tuesday, 18 months after a fire shuttered most of its care services. A 10-alarm electrical fire in February of 2023 forced the immediate closure of the facility. In the time since, the hospital has undertaken an extensive set of repairs and upgrades to make the building viable for patient care.

The Tuesday re-opening brings online a revamped emergency department that includes a new 12-unit behavioral health triage operation. Among the other upgrades are a new outpatient surgical facility and main lobby, both of which the hospital says were designed to be more convenient and welcoming for patients. Signature also secured a 1.5-megawatt solar array to offset the building’s carbon footprint and new machinery for its cardiac catheterization lab. The maternity, pediatric, and behavioral health units remain closed.

“Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital has provided safe, quality healthcare to the community for the past 125 years, and we are dedicated to continuing this legacy for another 125 years and beyond,” said Signature Healthcare president and CEO Robert Haffey.

The announcement is especially welcome news for the southeast region, where hospital capacity constraints are among the most severe in the state. The fire at Brockton, the previous closure of Steward’s Norwood Hospital, and the overnight shutdown of Compass Medical have all resulted in increased caseloads for hospitals along the Route 24 corridor.

Leaders from Signature Healthcare recently shared their account of the crisis response and subsequent rebuilding journey in this MHA webinar. The organization created walk-in urgent care centers and moved numerous patient services to outpatient sites as part of that plan.